


Together we ride

by Miyukitty



Series: SASO2016: Grande Road [1]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, 弱虫ペダル | Yowamushi Pedal
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Bicycles replaced with Horses, Friendship/Love, Happy Ending, High Fantasy, Horseback Riding, Jousting, Light Angst, Loyalty, M/M, Royalty, SASO 2016, Short One Shot, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-08
Updated: 2016-06-08
Packaged: 2018-07-13 22:18:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7139882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miyukitty/pseuds/Miyukitty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tadokoro stiffens under the scrutiny, swelling his broad chest and flexing his muscles. He doesn't have magick in him, doesn't have standout talents like some of the recruits to the royal army, doesn't even have great endurance if he's being honest. But he's always been big, and he knows he's strong, and that's all it should take.</p><p>Even if he's never ridden a horse in his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Together we ride

**Author's Note:**

  * For [inelegantly (Lir)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lir/gifts).



> Written for prompt: _Remember when Tadokoro first got his shield as a knight, and officially swore fealty to his liege lord, Kinjou Shingo?_
> 
> Mostly inspired by Tadokoro's "filthy spear because I've been fighting" quote, I wanted literal long long lances haha :3 
> 
> It's not the first time one of Lira's [pedal AU prompts](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4149351) went [longer than intended](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4071823/chapters/9363852), but I am always weak for Yowapeda x video game crossovers. This wasn't even intended to be Fire Emblem but it is now and I'm sorry?? :U There's always a Maki-chan cameo even if you don't ask for one........ >_>

 

 

Tadokoro wipes his sweaty forehead on his sleeve. It's hot around the ovens so early in the morning, but it's a familiar heat the baker's son is well-tempered to.

 

 _It's good honest work,_ his father tells him in his letters, helping with the war effort in the ways he can. He misses his little village in the foothills, but he can never be too homesick when he's in the kitchen.

  
  
He is busy loading freshly baked meat pies into baskets when he hears someone enter the mess hall. It's too early for the newest batch of recruits to be done with morning training, so he doesn't bother standing up until he's satisfied with his work.

 

He hoists the last basket to the counter, turns, and finds himself face to face with the crown prince.

  
  
Tadokoro immediately flashes him a grin, flustered but pleased to see him today. Kinjou is still wearing his black-lacquered training armor, arriving directly after his morning ride and somehow still looking impeccable.

 

(Tadokoro is acutely aware of how ruddy his sweaty face is, how he's streaked with flour and probably spattered with every ingredient he's used today, but it's never seemed to bother the nobleman, so he doesn't let it bother him either.)

  
  
"I trust you're enjoying the new spices I had delivered?"

 

Kinjou smiles pleasantly in way of greeting, and Tadokoro nods emphatically.

 

"Figured that was your doing," he grins, and ducks below the counter to retrieve something. "Set this one aside for you just in case you stopped by."

  
  
Kinjou's amused smile softens into something warmer, more private. He politely accepts the shepherd's pie – with extra greens, and fried meat drippings, the way he likes it – and lingers for a moment longer than usual.

 

Tadokoro busies himself chopping fresh fruit, but his knife pauses when he doesn't hear Kinjou's customary farewell. The prince never has time to stay for long, nor can Tadokoro afford to waste time socializing before breakfast. Their morning routine was always brief.

  
  
"Milord?" Tadokoro prompts, setting down a cored and peeled apple. If he needed anything, Kinjou had only to ask. Hesitation was out of character.

  
  
Kinjou hums thoughtfully, green eyes distant.

  
  
"Just entertaining a thought. I am… under pressure to name retainers, as you know. I intend to nominate the finest knights I can trust to my inner circle. I was just thinking how fortunate I would be to have someone like you as my right hand man. I enjoy your company, Tadokoro."

  
  
Tadokoro swallows around the sudden lump in his throat. He isn't quite sure how to respond. His expressive countenance twists into a frown, heavy brows furrowed.

  
  
"That's… that's quite the compliment, milord. I'm just the cook, though, I'm no knight."

  
  
Kinjou nods in simple agreement. "Indeed, it's just a passing fancy of mine. Due to the nature of my station, there are not many I can call friends."

 

His thoughtful expression smooths back into measured calm, and Kinjou turns away from the counter.

 

"I do look forward to seeing you again tomorrow, however briefly," he adds, and winks before he steps out the door.

  
  
Tadokoro is unusually quiet for the remainder of the afternoon, his thoughts straying far from the kitchen he labored in.

 

* * *

  
  
  
"You're thinking of becoming a knight?" the stablemaster asks.

  
  
The toothpick hangs loose from his lips as he looks Tadokoro over from head to toe.

  
  
Tadokoro stiffens under the scrutiny, swelling his broad chest and flexing his muscles. He doesn't have magick in him, doesn't have standout talents like some of the recruits to the royal army, doesn't even have great endurance if he's being honest. But he's always been big, and he knows he's strong, and that's all it should take.

 

Even if he's never ridden a horse in his life.

  
  
"I already know I'm not built for riding," he deflects, a stubborn frown forming on his lips.

 

He sees the trainees every day in the mess hall, all slim and streamlined muscle, where every pound of armor counts against their horse's speed. The knights of the realm were renowned for meting swift judgment wherever they were dispatched – they rode fast and far to quell unrest at the borders, and some of them practically lived in their saddles.

  
  
Was it a fool's errand to even ask? Cooking is good work with fair pay, after all. He doesn't need to risk his life on the front lines to prove anything, or to help with the effort.

 

He doesn't need to impress Kinjou.

  
  
"If that's how you feel, there are other ways to fight that don't require a horse," the lean man offers, and crosses his arms. "Go to the armory, and they can outfit you-"

  
  
"It has to be a horse," Tadokoro quickly counters. Otherwise there would be no point.

  
  
_Lord Kinjou rides a horse. I want to be his right hand man. This is something I want to do for myself._

  
  
The stablemaster chews his toothpick. Then he breaks into a smirk, and claps him on the shoulder.

  
  
"If you won't back down from the challenge, neither will I. Name's Tooji, Kanzaki Tooji. Let's get you on a horse and see what you can do."

 

* * *

   
  
Tadokoro groans as he hoists his sorry carcass out of bed.

  
  
He is accustomed to waking with the dawn so he can fire up the ovens and begin the day's baking. He is not, however, accustomed to waking hours before sunrise to get bruises on top of his bruises. (He's pretty sure he's no longer a person at all; he's been reduced to a walking mass of bruises, sore muscles, creaky joints, and complaints.)

 

He peels out of his smallclothes and mindlessly dresses for yet another day of training.

  
  
It's still dark when he traipses to the stables, but he manages a weary smile when the Kanzaki siblings greet him with his custom saddle. Once he falls off the horse a satisfactory number of times, he gets to go to the kitchens for a full day of cooking.

  
  
At least he has never been one to turn away from a challenge.

 

* * *

   
  
"…And this gelding is a special project of mine, a rescue," Miki explains.

 

Visible excitement shines in her dark eyes as she rubs the horse's scarred muzzle, who butts affectionately against her touch.

  
  
Tadokoro listens indulgently as he applies pressure to the dressing on his bleeding shin. It's not the worst scrape he's received while trying to balance a pole on one arm and the unfamiliar weight of the grand guard on the other, but it's not pleasant either.

  
  
He lets Miki chatter on without interruption as a pleasant distraction from the pain. While her brother manages the herd's daily care and trains riders and grooms alike, Miki's specialty is breeding and training (and occasionally rehabilitating) the animals their family is responsible for. Her boundless enthusiasm is inspiring, and Tadokoro finds his grin again.

  
  
"Will he let me pet him?" Tadokoro asks, grunting softly as he heaves his way to his feet.

  
  
Miki beams, and leads the charger from his stall to say hello.

 

* * *

  
  
The shrill blaring of trumpets drowns out the whinnying of anxious horses. The sun hangs suspended over the brightly colored pavilions dotting the field. Through the limited view of his visor, Tadokoro watches crimson and gold royal banners wave gaily in the breeze. 

  
  
Lord Kinjou is too busy to visit him personally on the day of the jousting tournament, but he swears out of the corner of his eye he sees the crown prince wave at him from the stands. Tadokoro stares a little longer than he would have dared without the helm obscuring his eyes.

 

Sir Makishima is there on Kinjou's left. All Tadokoro knows about him is that the wyvern rider's distinguished himself as Kinjou's first appointed retainer. The eerie green-haired knight is talented and intimidating, even without the battleaxe slung over his bony shoulders or the black shadow winging lazy circles high in the sky.

 

The tournament results today would determine who would stand in the vacant space at Kinjou's right (surely a coincidence, and yet Tadokoro wonders if clever Kinjou had deliberately arranged the seating like that to remind him of their weighted conversation). 

 

Tadokoro gulps.

 

This is his only chance.

  
  
He is struck with a sudden sense of how ridiculous he must look: the baker's son, the royal cook, clad in a suit of armor astride Miki's magnificent warhorse. He still doesn't feel like much of a knight. He trained as hard as he could in the time he had, but others had vastly more experience.

 

He wonders, again, if Kinjou ever meant for him to take those words to heart – if he wasn't making a fool of himself. He hears Miki and Tooji cheering his name from the grandstand as he takes his place, and straightens in his saddle, blinks the sweat from stinging his eyes. 

 

He's never been one to overthink things. He won't know how far he's come until he proves it, and if this is his only chance, he'd better make it count.

 

The powerful gelding beneath him responds to every cue. Before he realizes it's begun, they surge as one unit, and he's charging down the tilt with an irrepressible grin and his lance leveled squarely at his opponent's shield.

  
  
The pole shatters beautifully on impact, sending his first opponent toppling from the saddle. Tadokoro laughs, and all his doubts scatter to the wind.

 

* * *

  
  
  
"…I hereby dub thee Sir Tadokoro. You may rise."

  
  
There is a scraping sound of the sword being sheathed, and Tadokoro dares to open his eyes.

 

The burnished metal shield on his arm bears Kinjou's heraldry. He would have thought it a dream, if not for the fresh bruises blossoming beneath his plate mail, the sweat dripping in his eyes. He fought for this every step of the way.

  
  
He glances up from where he is knelt at his liege's feet.

  
  
Kinjou is beyond elegant in his full regalia. Tadokoro's searching gaze skims past the sprawling crimson cape trimmed with luxurious fur, the gold ornaments adorning the ceremonial armor, the obsidian circlet crowning his sloping brow.

 

Despite his kingly stature, the noble still smiles the same as always when he offers Tadokoro his right hand.

 

The newly christened knight takes it in a heartbeat and stands, grinning ear to ear, pulling him into a sweaty hug. He hears Makishima nearby stifle a nasal chuckle, and his grin grows even broader.

  
  
"I am now your man in all things, milord," Tadokoro swears, beaming with pride.

  
  
He claps the nobleman on the back, making him stumble a step forward.

  
  
"I am fortunate to have you," Kinjou murmurs fondly.

 

* * *

 

  
  
_It's good honest work,_ Tadokoro will tell his father when he resigns from the family business.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Tadokoro and Kinjou reached A+ rank Support! >:3
> 
> (please accept my [pedal](https://twitter.com/Magepaw/status/729945329672458240) [emblem](https://twitter.com/Magepaw/status/725800455394054146) concept art)


End file.
